TopShop Trench Temptation

One of my favourite recent purchases has been my new TopShop trench coat. I first saw it before I went on holiday, but didn't buy it as I thought I should save my money for my holidays. However on my return, I realised the error of my ways, as it was nowhere to be found instore and was out of stock online. Moral of the story being: If you love it, buy it there and then. I like how it mixes classic trench coat details with the leather-look detailing which is very current.

The Object of My Desire

After a protracted saga of standard email responses, unhelpful shop assistants and unanswered tweets from TopShop I eventually managed to track the coat down instore. Thanks to the lovely Alice Wignall from Elle magazine I knew to get a smaller size as she told me the sizing comes up large on this item.

Thank goodness for Twitter, as TopShop were useless at dealing with my queries. I don't see the point of a brand being on Twitter if they aren't going to communicate with their followers as part of a two-way dialogue, as opposed to just tweeting about items from their collections. They could definitely learn a thing or two from Asos and My Wardrobe who have always been really helpful on Twitter, e.g. answering queries re. orders, or just engaging in conversation, e.g. discussing one of my style-crushes, Taylor Tomasi Hill.

I would love to hear about any 'must-have' pieces that you have had to track down. Or any examples of great experiences of interacting with brands on Twitter.

St David's South Wales Bloggers Event

Last Wednesday I was lucky enough to attend the first St David's South Wales Blogger Event. The event was part of their Autumn Winter Fashion Tour (in conjunction with the British Fashion Council) which has seen fashion shows throughout the shopping centre and 'Pamper Pods' dotted throughout the centre.

Before the main event, a number of the bloggers met up to get to know each other over a drink and a muffin in BB's in the centre. We also managed to fit in a bit of browsing and shopping in Urban Outfitters and Seren, in the Morgan Arcade.

Sarah from 'Falling Forward' and Eric The Panda accessorising

The main event took place in the management suite of the shopping centre. Hosting the event were the lovely Laura and Sarah from Golley Slater. There were also representatives from a number of the stores within the centre, from Reiss to G-Star to La Senza. They gave us an insight into their latest collections and highlighted some of their key pieces for this season.

John from Reiss explaining the influences behind this season's collection,

Emma from La Senza

We were also given a vintage-look hair demonstration by the staff from Kamigata, which is an Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa based in the centre.

After the presentations we were given the opportunity to browse the selection of clothes and accessories from a number of the stores in the centre, from Kurt Geiger to New Look. This was the fun part, where we could get our hands on the clothes and also get to chat to the other bloggers, including Emily from Sugar and Spice and Cami from 'Room on the Third Floor' . It was good to meet people that I'd previously only known from Twitter.

These Miu Miu-esque glittery shoes are from KG by Kurt Geiger

Clutch from Oasis

This being the party season, there were a lot of glamorous pieces on show, with plenty of sparkly and shiny pieces to see you through until the New Year. We were also treated to some Krispy Kreme doughnuts (my first ever!), which necessitated some careful handling of the clothes!

Love the cut and colour of this Reiss jacket

Love this Monsoon dress. It's definitely on my 'to-buy' list

There were some great pieces on show, including some gorgeous pieces from Reiss and Kurt Geiger. I'll be posting about the different brands in more detail over the next week or so.

A big thanks to Gemma and Chantelle who organised the event together with Golley Slater. I would also like to thank the lovely Liz from Cardiff Blogs, who kindly stepped in to take photos for me when my camera battery died. In case you're wondering, she is the one holding the Mango red dress in the picture above. If she isn't the owner of that dress by the end of the year she will not be happy!

All That Glitters or 'How I Satisifed my Glitter Lust'

One of the shoes of the season which has featured in all of the style magazines is the Miu Miu glitter trompe d'oeil boot which gives the effect of wearing strappy shoes with some rather sparkly socks. Another variation on it was the gold and pink fan boots which didn't seem to be as widely featured. I don't know what it is about them but they just make me smile. And I know I'm not the only one, as lots of my favourite ladies on Twitter were raving about them, including A Girl, A Style and JenniferElleUK. However these are firmly out of my price range at £555, so I made do with lots of admiring glances at various blog posts and style magazines.

But try as I might I just couldn't shake the urge to get my glitter on. Which is where the Office sale stepped in. Lurking at the back of the shelf was one pair of black glitter pointed ballet pumps which kept calling me back. Now I'm not a big wearer of ballet pumps, and it's usually a case of 'the higher the heel the better' for me when it comes to shoes, but I felt like trying something different, so I picked these up.

These were originally £60, but had been reduced to £16. And thanks to Office's extra 20% off sale shoes, these only cost £12.80! I have had lots of comments on them and they do indeed make me smile when I put them on. They might not be as glamorous as the Miu Miu ones, but they have satisfied my need for a glitter fix......for now!

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in 'Pop' (Limited Edition)

It's that time of year again, when companies from Estee Lauder to Asda urge us to 'Think Pink'. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition to raising awareness of the disease, the month also raises a lot of money for Breast Cancer charities, via the sale of a host of pink items.

I have only used a few Daniel Sandler products but have been really impressed with them, so I was really keen to try this, as his legendary 'Watercolour' blushes were next on my 'to try' list (which seems to be growing by the day!). Daniel has created a new limited edition shade, 'POP', especially to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. Only 250 of these have been produced, and they are available exclusively at Escentual for £14.50.

I love this shade as it is a perfect perk-me-up pink which gives a beautiful flush of colour. The colour is best applied with one of Daniel's waterbrushes, which are currently on offer for £5. I already had one of these from when they were offered as a free gift with any Daniel Sandler product a few months ago. One of the things I liked about this was that the colour was buildable, so that I could get exactly the intensity I was looking for, without worrying that I would look too 'Aunt Sally'! This blush gives a really natural flush to the skin, with just the right amount of 'pop'.

1 sweep of Watercolour Blush

With a second sweep of Watercolour Blush

So if this looks like your kind of blush, get yourself over to Escentual . This shade is selling fast! There are lots of other lovely shades in the Watercolour Blush range too, and this month Escentual are donating 10% of the selling price of the Watercolour Blushes to Breast Cancer Care.

Fine Print: I was sent this product for review purposes.